When this mom scares an old lady who is being prejudiced, she asks Reddit:
My kids have blonde hair, blue eyes and are quite fair. I have dark brown eyes, black hair and am naturally tan. Clearly, the kids take after their father. A couple days ago I took the kids with me to a grocery store while my husband was at work.
The second we walked in, an elderly woman began awing my kids. My kids are usually great with new people but were uncomfortable so I smiled at the lady and quickly gathered the kids and walked away. But then for about 20 minutes after, I noticed the lady staring at us. See we live in a rural white town that doesn’t see many non white people so I try to avoid places with too many people because I always get dirty looks and it makes me uncomfortable.
Many people have followed me and I’ve gotten some threats and insults as well. My husband told me that whenever something like this happens, to quickly alert someone. Preferably the police. So this woman kept following us and even glared at me at one point so I panicked and went up to an employee and told her that a woman was following me and my kids.
She called over other employees and a couple stayed with me while the others went to find the lady (wasn’t hard as she was close by). The lady immediately began to cry when confronted and said that she was just making sure the kids were safe and she didn’t know if I was their mom or not. She asked me if I was happy now and that if something happened to her because of all the stress I caused then I’d better be sorry.
The employee asked me what I wanted to do and I just said I’d pay for my things and leave. I told my sister in law what happened since she came over to get something of hers and she said I overreacted and probably scared the crap out of the poor woman “after all, she’s not wrong-the kids look nothing like you”. Idk... AITA?
josh2014 writes:
Even if OP weren't the mother, the old lady would STILL be TA. OP could have been a nanny, an aunt, a family friend. Heck, for all the lady knew, OP could have been an adoptive mother. NTA NTA NTA. People are the worst. My wife and I nannied 3 kids when we were in our early/mid 20s (the oldest kid was 14). We ended up going to Wal-Mart with them once or twice. If someone harassed us like this lady harassed OP, I'd have been quite reasonably annoyed.
busy7606 writes:
NTA there are plenty of reasons why kids sometimes don’t look like their parents. The kids weren’t fighting you, you weren’t aggressively trying to leave with them, or anything that could even possibly suggest you were kidnapping them. She was being a nosy busybody and was upset to be called out. Your and the children’s safety should always be the priority over someone else possible feelings like that.
waywardpainter writes:
NTA what right did that racist old bat have to question you or your children's safety? None! Weither you birthed them, adopted them, fostered them, babysitting them, watching extended family for the holidays. Absolutely NONE of that mattered to that nosy old woman because she felt entitled to be racist.
Tell your SIL to lick paint and your husband is 100% correct. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable like this again, get an employee or call the cops. Who knows, maybe SHE was a trafficker like Clint Eastwood in that movie.